


Future Perfect

by Turtleneck (caretta)



Series: SoNein Crack Ship Tournament [2]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: All The Supermen Wants Their Batman, Fifteen Minutes Into The Future, Hal Has A Crush On All The Supermen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 01:15:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8267383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caretta/pseuds/Turtleneck
Summary: Hal comes home to find time has passed him by. Funnily enough, the young League's love life is still as much a mess as ever.





	

Given how most of his close associates are either ring-slingers, meta-humans, or gods; it has never occurred to Hal that hanging out in space for long stretches of time must have fucked with his aging process somehow. His only somewhat-normal frame of reference is Batman, who a)he doesn't see that often, b)never takes his mask off and c)is always scowling at Hal, so the wrinkles are sort of there anyway. 

It should come as no surprise, then, that one day Hal will drop by the Watchtower, only to be greeted by... Superman. Who is smaller, and younger, and smili-er, who says to him, "You must be Mr. Jordan. My dad has told me a lot about you!"

For the first time after what, he's told, has been twenty-five Earth-years -- sweet Jesus fucking Christ -- Hal feels the need to sit down. 

The kid-- Superman-- "You can call me Jon if you want, my identity is public knowledge."-- _Jon_ , bless him, leads Hal into a quiet reading room, offers him coffee, and patiently waits for Hal to get his bearing together. Now that the truth is sinking in, Hal begins to process the details that have escaped him before. Like how the outside of this Watchtower did not look at all like the Watchtower he had helped building, which at first glance he blamed on yet another renovation. Or how he recognized the costumes, but actually none of the faces that had passed him in the corridors. Even the coffee-maker is some Mac-ish model he can't even begin to operate. 

Oh god, it has really been twenty years. Hal's first thought is, "Thank god Carol has her ring." Thank god that she is somewhere in space right now, doing her own thing, instead of turning fifty as the head of Ferris Aircraft, probably with her children already graduating college. He's not sure he would be able to handle it, on top of this shock. Hal knows it's awfully selfish of him, and they're not even together anymore, but still... 

His second thought is, "Wait until I tell the gang about this." He's not sure Guy will be affected, John probably knows, but Kyle will likely have a panic attack and Hal, well, this one time he doesn't want to suffer alone. 

"So Clark retired, huh?" Hal says after a while, noticing that he's left the ki-- Jon waiting too long. He can't help thinking of Jon as that tiny ball of sunshine Clark proudly presented to him at his farm a while ago, a lifetime ago. He can't help checking the digital clock mounted on the wall to their left, counting every second, afraid that when he blinks another twenty-five years will have passed again, and the next Superman won't even know him, and Earth will no longer be his home, but just another planet. 

"Dad found a way to give up his powers, somehow. Uncle Bruce helped," Jon said, smiling into his own coffee mug. "He wanted to grow old with my mom, ya know? Said it wouldn't mean much to live forever if he had to watch mom slip away from his arms year after year."

Huh. Hal... has never seen it that way. Never thought much about it, after his brief semi-retirement stint ended in universe-ripping disaster. May be he could have had something like Clark's teeth-rottingly sweet family with Carol, once, but... Not wanting to pursue that train of thought, Hal changes the subject. 

"What about Wayne? I assume that skeleton is still around snapping at you kids?"

As if on cue, the door slides open, and a tall dark figures looms in the hall way. 

"Kent, we have a situation. See me at the meeting room in five."

His skin looks darker, his voice graver, and he's even taller than the last time Hal saw him. The attitude is less prissy and more regal, somehow, yet the flip of the cape when he turns around is unmistakable. As the door slide shuts again Hal turns puzzled eyes to Jon, awaiting an explanation. 

"That is, ah... I guess there's no harm telling you, since you already know his father. He's Damian Wayne. Uncle Bruce has a younger street-level Batman in training, but I don't know much more about that."

Damian? _That little brat?_ , Hal almost mouths, but keeps it to himself when he notices the faraway look Jon is still sending where Damian just stood. He looks... helpless, fond, and oh, _ooh_...

Hal drops his face to his palm. Damnit, it's like his days in the League all over again. Guess some things never change. 

"Mr. Jordan, will you stay a while?" Jon says, standing up to rinse his cup and put it on the rack. "I believe all young members of the League will benefit from your experience. I have to see Batman for now, but I'll catch you later?"

Hal says yes, and Jon is gone in a flash of red-blue, eager like a puppy, like nothing in the world can keep him from seeing that Damian boy right this second. Hal feels like a time-traveling pilot who gets off his plane only to find people still eating McDonald's in the future. At least Jon isn't too enamored with the Batgenes to forget him, because within five minutes a girl in red bow-and-arrow getups appears, saying she's been assigned to give him a tour plus show him his quarter. 

She introduces herself as Lian Harper, Roy's daughter, and tells him that Ollie's son Connor is Green Arrow now. She points to him the new Blue Beatle, whom he recognizes as Jaime's little sister, all grown-up of course. New Red Hood is part of the League, apparently, and he spots a graceful African-American woman who must be this generation's Batgirl. 

It's soothing, actually, listening to Red Arrow excitedly relaying to him how each hero picked up their mantle, who fought each other last week, how cafeteria food still sucks, what fun ice-breaking mission she went on. The League looks more diverse than ever, people smile more, and though Hal isn't quite used to his name being whispered with such respect and admiration, it's still a relief to see that the passed-along torch burns bright, and that Earth is well-protected. 

After seeing Lian off at the Zeta tubes, Hal sits in the cafeteria alone to watch the sunrise. He'll go back to Oa soon, of course, but he's sure no one will miss him in a few days. He'll check out Ollie and Barry, see what this whole retirement thing is working out for Supes. The shock has passed, Hal can't regret choosing his ring, or spending his life with the Corps. He plays a larger part in this never-ending battle now, though in the end, it's still to protect the universe which contains this tiny blue planet. He may not come back for another thirty years, who knows, but with everything he's seen, Hal feels assured that Earth will always be his home. 

"Majestic, isn't it? No matter how many times I see it from this angle, I'm still shocked at how lucky we are. How lucky my dad was to land here, meet my mom, and have me here."

Hal welcomes the steaming mug Jon gives him -- chai this time. Jon settles on the bench beside him, cape catching on the backrest before pooling on the floor in a puddle of red shadows. This is one of the few times this place isn't filled with chatters and clanging noises, most heroes having retired or been dispatched elsewhere. Jon visibly relaxes when the dawn wash over him, like Clark used to do, breathing in sunlight and letting it shimmer on his skin. Hal wonders if he's about to melt away, but then he smiles brightly, like only the unknowingly in love can, so hopelessly young that for a second Hal feels himself reverting to his younger self, also. 

He's back to those times he flew with Clark, both of them laughing heartily at the wind, when he thought he could just swoop down, right that second, to taste such pure joys between those lips. Times before he noticed the adoring way not one, but two Supermen from two different universes looked at Batman, one with a son on his arm, even. Now he's looking at that son, so much like his father, bearing the same burden on his shoulders and the same unrequited weight in his heart. Hal feels his chest pinches and wants to laugh -- life's just a bitch that way. 

Never could stand Bats, Hal thinks, shaking his head. Jon is beautiful and Hal wants to kiss him now, impulse leftover from a time that others have long left behind, but to him is still half-realized. He's not going to act on it, of course. Hal is nothing but impulses, if he acted on every single one of them he would... Well, he acted on his worst impulses, once, he's not going to do that again. 

So Hal keeps to his side of the bench, keeps his hand on his mug, and keeps the conversation to how the League could be improved. However, when young Batsy comes to check on Jon a second time, Hal makes his fingers linger on the soft hair curling at the back of Jon's neck. Not too long, just enough for Damian to narrow his eyes dangerously. 

Satisfied, Hal salutes and walks away, leaving the kids to sort it out themselves. Hopefully, he can push them along, and the next Green Lantern of Earth won't be caught in the middle of this long-standing World's Most Clueless mess. 

End.


End file.
